Page 14 of Ridge

He was tempted to turn and glance at Ridge, who’d been hovering behind him the entire time. Instead, he kept his attention on Elvis. There was no reason for him to look at Ridge. Ridge was only here as his bodyguard. Besides, he wouldn’t want to distract the man. He was taking his job very seriously.

Maybe too seriously. He’d only said a few words since they’d been introduced to Elvis and Bill, leaving the rest of the conversation to Kael. That made sense since that was why Kael was here, but he wouldn’t have minded a little help every so often. After all, he wasn’t a professional. He was doing this as a favor, not even to the council, but to a friend of a friend. He wouldn’t be here if Tex hadn’t asked him to be. If anyone but Gregory had asked him, he wouldn’t have said yes.

Or maybe he would have. He’d been missing being surrounded by demons, and being here helped with that. He wasn’t anything special, not beyond the time he’d spent with humans. He was just another demon here, and no one looked at him strangely. It wasn’t like being surrounded by humans, and there was something soothing and reassuring about that.

“I think your friend is a bit overwhelmed,” Bill suddenly said. “Why don’t we give him a little space? We can continue talking about this in a day or two, maybe tomorrow? You’re not leaving for a while, are you, Kael?”

Kael shook his head. “I’m here for several days, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Then maybe we should let you go. You can have some dinner and some rest, and we’ll see you tomorrow. I hope you’ll be prepared because we’ll have another long list of questions for you.”

Kael found himself smiling. Of course they would—it was why he was here. He wanted them to have questions, and he wanted to answer them. It was just a lot to take in all at once.

They continued talking as they made their way outside. Poppy mentioned dinner, and while it sounded good, Kael needed a little space. He smiled at her, hoping he wouldn’t disappoint her. “I’m not coming back right away. I want to take a walk and see the town.”

She brightened. “I can come with you and show you around.”

“No, that’s fine. I’m not exploring. I just need some space.”

“Oh, of course. Don’t worry about it. You know where the house is when you’re ready to come back.”

He didn’t turn to ask Ridge what he thought. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Ridge was supposed to keep an eye on him, but here was Kael, asking for space. “See you later.”

Kael didn’t want to know what Ridge would do. Would he follow Poppy back to her house? Would he take his own walk around town? Would he follow Kael?

He didn’t have to go far to know the answer to that. He turned a corner and finally looked back, but Ridge was nowhere to be found.

Kael was slightly disappointed, but he told himself not to be. He wanted to be alone. He’d asked for space, and that was what Poppy and Ridge were giving him. He had no reason to complain.

He walked down the street, looking around. This place looked a little like Starhaven. It had the same small-town, cozy feeling, and it almost felt like he would turn a corner and stumble onto his old school teacher or something. Of course she wasn’t here, but any of the demons he crossed paths with could be a teacher, a healer, or anything else. They were like the demons he’d grown up around, like the people he’d left behind when he left Starhaven.

He didn’t have family, and he hadn’t had friends beyond Nymon, but he couldn’t deny that he still missed the town. There was something about everyone knowing him there, even when they were unkind, that had made him feel like he belonged. He didn’t belong here, but he hadn’t expected to.

Did he belong anywhere, though? He wasn’t sure of that anymore.

But as he continued walking past demons he didn’t know who seemed perfectly fine with having him around, he started feeling better. Maybe even if he didn’t belong, he could do some good. He could show people that no matter their species, they could find a way to coexist. That was what mattered in the end, wasn’t it? He wasn’t doing this for himself, but for all demons.

He crossed a tiny street and noticed a bench. It was half hidden by the trees, but the sun was shining, and the birds were singing, and he was finally smiling. He flopped down, pulled his knees to his chest, and hugged them, smiling.

He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, but he still felt like he could do it. That was more than he could’ve said when he first arrived here.

“Look,” someone said. “The traitor.”

The words jolted Kael out of his thoughts entirely. He didn’t have to ask to know what they meant.

He slowly got to his feet, moving carefully as if he was dealing with a wild animal. The three demons standing in front of him weren’t wild animals, but he didn’t know what they wanted or how they would react. He could only tell that they were angry at his presence, and that didn’t help much.

“How am I a traitor?” he asked softly.

“Why would we want anything to do with humans or shifters?” a tall yellow demon spat out. His hair was short, and his gaze was blazing. “They’ll only use us and discard us once they’re done.”

“That’s not true. The people who want contact with us are good people. Besides, we’re not asking you to open your towns or this village to every single human or other being who lives outside of it. They just want dialogue. They want to exchange knowledge on medicine and other things.”

“You mean they want to steal our knowledge,” the demon to the right of the yellow one said. This one was a shade of dark orange, while the last one was pink. That one seemed quieter, but he was still there, supporting his friends.

Kael swallowed. He wasn’t a confrontational person. When someone was angry at him, he quieted down and stopped reacting because he never knew what to do or say. In this case especially, it felt dangerous. He might not know what these demons wanted, but he could tell they were angry, and right now, that anger was all aimed at him.

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